Human Development and Family Studies

Human Development and Family Studies

Nate Ashton, son of Bill and Kelley Ashton, both of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, will serve as the college marshal for the College of Health and Human Development at the Penn State commencement ceremony.

Researchers in the College of Health and Human Development and the College of Nursing at Penn State are co-leading a five-year study using mobile technology to better understand risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease, and ultimately enhance prevention and treatment, made possible by a $12.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging.

Celebrating children and their rights is something that the Community Relations Council (CFR) Club at Penn State York takes very seriously. The celebration from 4 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 17 in the Conference Center is free and open to the public.

Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute and the Population Research Institute recently hosted the symposium, “Sleep across the Lifespan: Family Influences and Impact,” to promote new research directions on sleep and how it affects human health and well-being.

Anthony D’Augelli, professor of human development and family studies, will present the 2016 Schmitt Russell Lecture. He will outline research throughout his career, noting how difficult obtaining samples can be and how research can contribute to social change.

The College of Health and Human Development has funded several projects and initiatives to faculty members and researchers, made possible through four endowments that support undergraduate education and outreach programs.

Diana Fishbein, director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center and C. Eugene Bennett Chair in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, will be one of the primary speakers at the second annual symposium for the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Translational Research in Children’s Mental Health. The conference, “Moving Toward Precision Healthcare in Children’s Mental Health: New Perspectives, Methodologies and Technologies in Therapeutics and Prevention,” will take place Oct. 5-7.

The College of Health and Human Development recently honored a number of faculty members with the Teaching Excellence Award in recognition of their outstanding instruction and dedication to undergraduate education.

The American Psychological Association awarded its Mark Chaffin Early Career Research Award to Chad Shenk, an assistant professor in human development and family studies and a faculty member in Penn State’s Network on Child Protection and Well-Being, part of the Social Science Research Institute.

Riley Plenge will be the Penn State College of Health and Human Development's college marshal for the August 2016 commencement ceremony, where she will receive a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies.

Across the pond, Jennie Noll’s message of engaging academia to combat and prevent child maltreatment is being heard and gaining traction, as the director of Penn State's Network on Child Protection and Well-Being recently presented two plenary addresses at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s Rebuilding Childhood Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The National Communication Association (NCA) has named Jon F. Nussbaum, professor of communication arts and sciences and human development and family studies at Penn State, a 2016 Distinguished Scholar. Nussbaum was recognized for his work in actively advancing scholarship in the areas of communication education, communication and aging, health communication, and organizational communication.